Guest Column

Montana’s Missed Solar Opportunity Hurts Ratepayers and Our Energy Future

The Governor chose to side with entrenched utility interests, vetoing this popular, bipartisan legislation

By Jackson Crawford

Montanans’ wallets, freedom, and energy future took a heavy hit with the Governor’s recent veto of Senate Bill 188.

The Montana Solar Shares Act (SB 188) would have opened the door for community solar: shared, locally-produced solar energy projects that allow renters, low-income households, and small businesses to benefit from clean power even if they can’t install panels on their own roofs. These projects give everyday Montanans the opportunity to reduce their power bills, support local energy resilience, and take control of their energy choices. Instead, the Governor chose to side with entrenched utility interests, vetoing this popular, bipartisan legislation. SB 188 passed the legislature 100 – 50 on its final votes prior to the Governor’s veto.

The timing could not be worse.

Right now, our monopoly utility is asking the Montana Public Service Commission to approve a massive rate increase as high as 26% for residential customers. This will further pile financial strain onto families already feeling the squeeze from inflation and high housing costs. Community solar would have offered a commonsense tool to counter those rising costs by allowing people to buy a share in a local solar array and earn credits on their energy bills. If Montanans want to invest their private dollars to build out our growing energy grid in a manner that provides them with stable, predictable costs, shouldn’t we let them?

Meanwhile, the federal government just declared an energy emergency — not to promote local energy development, but to fast-track new coal extraction leases in Montana. Let’s be clear: these projects are not about keeping the lights on in Billings or Missoula. The coal is largely bound for foreign markets in Asia. Meanwhile, Montanans are left with the health and environmental consequences of extraction and the long-term economic instability of a boom-and-bust industry. We are being told that we must sacrifice our land, air, and water to meet energy needs that aren’t even ours while being denied access to local, job-creating solar projects that would actually serve Montana communities.

That is backwards.

As a solar developer, I’ve worked with towns, tribes, farmers, and schools across the state who want to invest in solar but are blocked by outdated regulations and a monopoly utility that views customer choice as a threat. SB 188 was a modest, practical step forward. It simply would have let more people choose to invest in solar and share in its benefits.

The veto of SB 188 is a message from our state’s Governor: Energy freedom is for corporations — not for communities, families, or individuals. Montanans deserve energy options that are local, affordable, and predictable over the long-term. That means breaking the monopoly on power — not just in generation, but in decision-making. The Legislature took a bipartisan step in the right direction. If only our Governor could catch up.

We can, and must, do better. A veto override poll will be sent to Montana’s Legislators. A two-thirds vote could override the Governor’s veto. Montanans wallets, freedom, and energy future need a win.

Jackson Crawford is a Sales Representative with OnSite Energy in Missoula.